Mandatory heating and air conditioning inspections for businesses and residents’ associations in Alicante (RITE)

If you run a business, a shop or a residents’ association in Alicante, the Regulation on Thermal Installations in Buildings (RITE) requires you to have your heating, air conditioning and hot water maintained by an authorised maintenance company. From 70 kW of output, you also need a maintenance contract and periodic inspections.

We explain what applies to you depending on your installation, how to find out its output and which documents to keep to hand to avoid surprises.

Who is responsible for complying with RITE in a business or residents’ association in Alicante

The obligation lies with the owner of the installation: the company that owns the building or premises, or the residents’ association in the case of a central installation. In practice, it is usually the manager, the maintenance manager or the property manager who handles it.

The same applies to an office on Avenida Maisonnave, a hotel on San Juan beach or a unit on the Las Atalayas industrial estate: someone has to know what installation there is, who maintains it and where the records are kept. When nobody is assigned to it, maintenance ends up as “the technician will look at it when it breaks”.

If the premises are rented

In rented premises and offices, it is often unclear whether the maintenance is contracted by the landlord or the tenant. The sensible thing is to put it in writing in the lease, with the name of the maintenance company and who keeps the certificates.

What RITE requires depending on the output of your installation

What counts is the output of the whole installation, not of each unit. An office building with several units, a hotel or a large shop easily exceed 70 kW.

How to find out the output of your installation

The figure is on the installation certificate provided by the installer and on the rating plate of each unit. If you cannot find the paperwork, a technician can add it up during a visit by checking the units one by one. It is the first figure any maintenance company will ask you for, and everything else depends on it.

What RITE-compliant air conditioning maintenance includes

RITE-compliant maintenance is not popping in to change a filter when someone complains about the heat. It is a programme with set operations, dates and records. These are the parts that must be included:

• Preventive maintenance programme setting out the operations and how often they are carried out.
• Review of performance and consumption of the cooling and heating equipment.
• Refrigerant gas leak checks, in line with fluorinated gas regulations.
• Cleaning of filters, coils and ducts to maintain indoor air quality.
• Record of operations and issue of the maintenance certificate where applicable.

What the technician checks on a visit

At each service, the technician measures the circuit’s pressures and temperatures, checks the compressor’s electricity consumption and looks for traces of oil on joints and valves, which often give away a leak. In Alicante two things make a big difference: salt air in buildings near the sea, from El Postiguet to La Albufereta, which corrodes the outdoor coils, and the dust on calima days, which clogs the filters sooner than expected.

Periodic energy efficiency inspections in the Valencian Community

Installations over 70 kW must undergo periodic energy efficiency inspections, carried out by an inspection body with the cooperation of the maintenance company. How often depends on the type of installation and its output. In the Valencian Community, this is managed by the regional ministry (Conselleria) responsible for industry and energy.

The inspection goes much faster if everything is ready on the day the inspection body arrives. This is what they usually ask for:

• The installation certificate and the operation and maintenance manual.
• The contract with the authorised maintenance company.
• The records of operations and the annual maintenance certificates.
• Access to the units, including those on the roof.

What happens if your business or residents’ association does not comply with RITE

Skipping mandatory maintenance seems like a saving until something fails and explanations are needed. These are the most common consequences:

• Penalties for breaching industrial safety regulations.
• Problems with your insurance if there is an incident and the maintenance cannot be proven.
• Higher consumption: an unmaintained installation can use considerably more energy.
• Breakdowns at the worst possible moment, with the premises open or the residents without heating.

In Alicante, breakdowns tend to come in the middle of a July or August heatwave, when the unit has been running non-stop for days. A hotel with hot rooms or a shop on La Rambla with customers walking out the door loses far more than a year’s maintenance costs.

RITE checklist for property managers and business managers

If you have just taken charge of a building or premises, start here. Gathering all of this takes little time and saves you a lot of phone calls when an inspection or a breakdown comes along:

1. Know the total thermal output of the installation.
2. Have the operation and maintenance manual and the installation certificate.
3. Hire an authorised maintenance company, with a contract if the installation exceeds 70 kW.
4. Keep the records and certificates for each year.
5. Have the required inspections scheduled.

Common mistakes we see

• Counting only the output of one unit and not the whole installation.
• Hiring a technician who is not an authorised maintenance company and cannot issue the certificate.
• Losing the records when the property manager or business manager changes.
• Leaving the units on the roof without safe access for servicing.

Frequently asked questions

Does a residents’ association with individual air conditioning in each flat have to comply with RITE?

The individual units in each home are the responsibility of each owner. RITE affects the residents’ association when there is a shared installation, such as central heating or central hot water.

What is an authorised maintenance company?

It is a company registered with the Industry register to maintain thermal installations, with accredited technicians. It is the only one that can issue the maintenance certificate, so it is worth asking for proof before hiring them.

How often is maintenance carried out?

It is set by the maintenance programme according to the type of equipment and its output. Large installations have monthly, quarterly and annual operations, and it is best to schedule the most thorough ones before summer and winter.

Does a small shop in Alicante with a single split unit have to comply with RITE?

If the total output of the installation does not exceed 5 kW, the maintenance specified by the manufacturer is enough. If the premises have several units, you have to add them together: with two or three units you may already be in the band that requires an authorised maintenance company.

What should I do if I cannot find the installation certificate?

First ask the company that installed it or the previous property manager. If it does not turn up, a maintenance company can review the installation and advise you on how to put the documentation in order.

Thermal installation maintenance in Alicante

At Davofrío we are a maintenance company and an official service centre for the leading brands, with an ISO 9001 quality management system. We prepare the maintenance programme for your building, keep the records and support you during inspections. Find out more about our maintenance plans and in Davofrío Alicante.

We work with our own technicians and have more than 20 years’ experience, as an official service centre for Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Bosch, Midea and LG. Before starting, we visit the installation and give you a fixed quote in writing.

This article gives a general summary of current regulations. For your specific case, we review your installation and tell you what your obligations are.